Wednesday, April 1, 2026
In October last year Lancashire Police asked for the public's help locating Stephen Pennington who was wanted.
Pennington (pictured) is a Registered Sex Offender with a previous conviction of the rape of a child.
He was wanted for breaching his Sexual Harm Prevention Order and failing to notify the police of leaving Blackburn – one of the conditions of the order.
With your help and the assistance of our colleagues at Devon and Cornwall Police, Pennington was found at an address in Devon where a woman and children lived.
He had moved out of his registered address in Blackburn and evaded the police for several weeks.
Pennington had made his way to the other end of the country, in doing so committing multiple breaches of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order and his Sex Offender Notification Requirements.
This included him using social media sites he hadn't registered and not retaining his internet history.
Pennington, 38, formerly of Bolton Road, Blackburn, appeared for sentence at Exeter Crown Court last week (26th March) after pleading guilty to three breaches of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order and one offence of failing to notify as part of his Sex Offender Notification requirements – the offences covered his time in both Blackburn and Devon.
The judge jailed him for three years and nine months.